


Spooky & The Enigmatic

by Kyouryokusenshi



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Book: The X-Files Origins: Agent Of Chaos - Kami Garcia, Book: The X-Files Origins: Devil's Advocate - Jonathan Maberry, F/M, Gen, Pre-X-Files, Summer Vacation, Young Dana Scully, Young Fox Mulder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2020-05-16 18:05:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19323343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyouryokusenshi/pseuds/Kyouryokusenshi
Summary: Pre-XF. How did Scully spend summers growing up? And why did Mulder’s family have a vacation home in Rhode Island when they lived in a vacation destination?





	Spooky & The Enigmatic

**Author's Note:**

  * For [xraelynn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xraelynn/gifts).



> Written for Rachel (xraelynn) the #XFSummer2019 fanfic exchange organized by @OnlyTheInevitable. This story is inspired by her prompt “How did Scully spend summers growing up? And why did Mulder’s family have a vacation home in Rhode Island when they lived in a vacation destination?” I did my best to mix the two and hope you enjoy! Some references to the X-Files Origins books, which are considered canon as part of Mulder and Scully’s backstory, but you don’t need to have read them to enjoy this story. MANY THANKS to Cate @RationalCashew and Monika @MonikaFileFan for their help and awesome beta work!!!

Dana Katherine Scully immersed herself into her Biology textbook as she often did with her science studies. Science was tangible and she often sought comfort in its permeability. Next week would mark the end of her sophomore year in high school and the idea of saying goodbye for the summer to her friends crushed her. Even more so, to Ethan, her first love.

She’d only recently developed some close friendships at school and she and Ethan had only recently started dating, but when her father’s news came, she knew ultimately the distance would keep them apart.

Dana was a loner by nature, but her father’s career as a Navy captain made developing relationships, both platonic and romantic, nearly impossible. Melissa, on the other hand, despite some of her rather eccentric beliefs, was the more outgoing of the two. Flirty and feminine, she also had no issue landing a boyfriend each time they were uprooted by their father’s career.

“Dana!” Melissa’s voice pulled her from her thoughts.

There was Melissa, as usual, making her grand entrance into Dana’s bedroom.

Dana sat up on the bed and she regarded her sister skeptically. “Missy, how many times have I told you to knock first?”

Missy, clad in goth, yet the epitome of womanhood with her curled hair and deep red lipstick, rolled her eyes, then she pursed her lips, her expression instantly serious.

“Are you having those dreams again?”

Dana shook her head. “No...it’s just. Once I finally feel as if I belong somewhere, we’re up and moving again.”

Melissa shrugs. “Quonochontaug...Rhode Island. It can’t be that bad, Dana. Another beach town means plenty of cute guys. Plus, we can use a little change of scenery. You’ll be looking at colleges in a few months; let’s have some fun. How bad can it be?”

Dana shrugs. With Gran having recently passed away and Bill having gone off to military school, things were definitely different around the Scully house; especially, with Ahab gone. It was just her, Missy, Mom and...Charlie. And Charlie, well, no one ever knew what was going through the youngest Scully’s mind. He was a puzzle none of them could ever piece together.

\-----

Fox Mulder was fuming as he sat in the passenger seat of his father’s AMC Gremlin. Instead of spending his last summer with his friend, Gimble, before going off to Oxford, he was stuck with his father on their annual trip to Quonochontaug, Rhode Island. He suspected it was punishment for refusing to go to Georgetown.

Then, there was Phoebe; although she managed to get into Oxford as well, so he would already be seeing plenty of her. Her folks must have pulled some serious strings, not that he doubted her intelligence. Phoebe was smart and ambitious, everything that his father expected him to look for in a relationship.

“Fox,” his father grumbled.

Mulder rolled his eyes. “Mulder,” he corrected.

“Mmmhmm, yeah, anyway...soon enough you’ll be out from under our roof, but this year is for the family. If not for me, do it for Mom.”

The car ground to a winding halt as they approached the property. Mulder threw off his seatbelt as he looked toward his dad. Their family had never been the same since Samantha’s abduction. His father worked long hours, gone all the time to God knows where. The tension when his parents were in the same room was palpable whenever they weren’t in the middle of an argument.

“Since when do you care what Mom thinks?” Mulder retorted.

“Fox,” Bill Mulder warned.

“Mulder,” Mulder repeated icily.

“Fine,” his father complied. “Your mother will be here tonight. Don’t make things more difficult than they are already. She’s already lost one child...your going away isn’t easy for her.”

Mulder swallowed, saying nothing as looked at his father for a moment before exiting the car, practically slamming the door as he threw his rucksack over his shoulder. “Do it for your mother” was a guilt tactic his father frequently put to use in order to get him to comply with whatever bait and switch he pulled.

God-forbid he disappoints his mother. He vowed to never impose that guilt onto any hypothetical child. What if he ended up being exactly like his father? It was a weight that never left this shoulders and, at that moment, he swore he would never have kids. His family was irreparably broken and he was the eccentric guy who believed in aliens.

\---

It was with a heavy heart that Dana said goodbye to her friends after promising to keep in touch via letters and phone calls. She should have been used to this by now; the constant moves, the lack of stability, but it’s different this time. Not just the fact that she was leaving a piece of her life behind, but the fact that the nightmares--the visions she’d been having since the incident at the Beyond Beyond shop returned.

They weren’t so much visions as they were words. She’d taken up journaling them each morning, looking for various symbols that could possibly indicate their meaning. As someone whose cornerstone was science, she was skeptical. Dreams and nightmares were simply the subconscious processing the events during the day, right? She was venturing into Melissa’s territory.

“ _Nothing but the FBI’s Most Unwanted_ ,” the words reverberated through her mind.

_“I'm the key figure in an ongoing government charade, the plot to conceal the truth about the existence of extraterrestrials. It's a global conspiracy, actually, with key players in the highest levels of power, that reaches down into the lives of every man, woman, and child on this planet, so, of course, no one believes me. I'm an annoyance to my superiors, a joke to my peers. They call me Spooky.”_

Dana shook her head. Her dreams had really been odd lately.

“Dana,” Melissa’s voice resounded, startling her from her thoughts.

It was then she realized that they had stopped at a rest stop.

“Huh?”

“You’re miles away,” the other redhead remarked, extending a can of soda towards her.

Dana smiled as she took the cold beverage offered to her and guzzled the cold liquid, relishing its taste.

“I thought you were the rational one,” her sister continued, taking a seat beside her as they waited for the rest of their family to return to the car.

“It might sound crazy but…” Dana starts.

Melissa raised an eyebrow. “Remember who you’re talking to, Dana. It might be in my makeup, but not yours.”

Dana swirled her drink in thought. “I’ve been having odd dreams lately. About someone named Spooky saying he’s involved in some type of government conspiracy.”

The other Scully chuckles. “Now, that’s some stuff.”

“I know, it’s insane.”

Melissa quickly shook her head. “No, it’s important you look at it with loving eyes, free of judgment. Dreams are a representation of our daily lives; they’re trying to tell us something. The symbolism and dream language are unique to each dreamer, prompting us to resolve an issue that might be occurring in our waking lives or even ready us for the future.”

“Like a premonition?”

“Possibly. Ultimately, only you can figure out what it means.”

\------

Mulder stared out the window of the attic in the large house. The attic was his favorite place to ponder and find meaning for his life. He’d often gaze up at the moon as it poured its light down onto the old house while everyone else was asleep, wondering if there was anyone--or anything else staring back.

He folded his arms on the ledge, releasing a heavy sigh. His lids grew heavy, but not before he caught two figures below, moving in the dark and, then, a small flame that illuminated the darkness. Careful to remain unnoticed, he moved to switch off the small bedside lamp before hurrying back to the window.

Without the glare of the light, he could barely make out the two figures below. He’d seen this man before, never up close, though. The man with the cigarettes. And the smaller figure beside him was his mother. They were too far away for him to make out what they were saying, but each time he’d seen them, they were arguing.

The man with the cigarettes always brought with him a sense of disease. Who was this man and why was he always talking with his mother? Why had he never met or seen him in a way that wasn’t shrouded in darkness?

For a moment, he resolved to ask his mother, but he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that implored him not to go further. Searching for the truth had never gotten him anything but ostracized and ignored.

\-----

“ _Spooky Mulder, whose sister was abducted by aliens when he was just a kid and who now chases after little green men with a badge and a gun, shouting to the heavens or to anyone who will listen that the fix is in, that the sky is falling and when it hits it's gonna be the shit-storm of all time.”_

_“A dream is an answer to a question we haven’t yet figured out how to ask.”_

Dana jolted awake, breathing heavily in the darkness. It was the first night in their new home. The only light being the outside street lights peeking through the shades of her bedroom as she adjusted to her surroundings. Her skin was clammy as she tried to calm her racing heart and make sense of what happened.

Closing her eyes, she willed the dream to replay in her mind. Studying it, forcing herself to remember the feelings and emotions attached to it. Who was the owner of the voice? She willed the images to come into focus, but to no avail. When she couldn’t discern the images, she focused on the emotions of the dream. Dana was overwhelmed and didn’t even know where to start. Scully was breathless, unable to get her heart to stop racing. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before.

She felt something similar when she and Ethan had started dating. The high of first love is unlike any other that follows it, only this was not Ethan. Of that, she was certain. It was something complex and tangible, a completely new phenomenon.

\-----

Days had settled into weeks as Mulder holed himself up in his bedroom. He came out basically only during mealtimes when his mother or father asked him for help with something and only when forced to participate in the conversation. Staring at the ceiling, he tossed a basketball into the air, completely lost in thought.

His mother and his father were barely speaking on this completely pointless trip and he became acutely aware of his mother slipping out of the house in the middle of the night to God knows where. Probably with that smoking fucker again. Was she having an affair? Should he approach his father?

Boy, fall couldn’t come soon enough.

“Fox.” His mother’s voice barely registered through his thoughts.

“You have a visitor.”

Mulder was instantly alert, jumping up on his bed, the basketball long forgotten tumbling down onto his head. “Ouch! SHIT!”

As he rubbed the smarting spot on his head, no one other than his best friend, Gimble, appeared in the doorway.

“Am I interrupting something?”

No longer phased by the pain, Mulder raced to his feet and threw his arms around his friend. “Gimble! Geeze, you’re a sight for sore eyes.”

The shorter man hugged his friend before he pulling back, adjusting his glasses to look him directly in the eye. He scratched his head and eyed him pointedly. "Well, I figured if we couldn't spend the summer in the same town, I'd come to you. The major left me plenty of money, so once my aunt helped settle the estate, I was free to go wherever I wanted. Looks like you're stuck with me this summer."

Mulder's eyes went wide. "Far out!" He raised his hand as Gimble jumped up and smacked his open palm, hard.

"Now get those trunks out, let's get you outta this house. You folks don't seem to care as long as you're back for dinner."

Perhaps this wouldn't be the worst summer after all.

\-----

Somehow, Melissa had managed to convince her sister to leave the house. "It's summer. Get your nose out of those books. You'll be looking at colleges next year."

Dana reluctantly complied, especially since she somehow even convinced Charlie to join them.

Clouds hung low in the sky as they found a spot to settle next to the beach. There were scattered showers in the forecast for that day, so luckily the beach wasn't terribly crowded.

Melissa passed Dana some SPF as she settled her things down next to Charlie, who was sipping on a blue slushie. He peered up at them behind his dark shades as his red curls and freckled Irish skin gleamed in the sun.

"What?" Melissa grumbled.

"The guys over there invited me to volleyball while you two were in the bathroom."

Melissa looked towards the group that consisted of a few taller men about her age and a shorter one. "Oh...now, they're cute, aren't they? Even the short one. Go invite them over," her sister teased.

"Yeah right," Charlie rebuked as he stood and jogged over towards the group who turned towards him and waved him over.

Dana shook her head as she popped out a book, intending to read, but not before Melissa instantly pulled it out of her grasp.

"Not today!"

Dana frowned as she adjusted her shades. "Whatever. I'm going to go grab some food."

As Melissa sank down onto her beach towel, she sighed. "Fine, but be a dear and grab me a salad...I need to keep in shape this summer."

\---

Dana sighed as she carried the food back to the beach area. Hopefully, the sandwich she picked out would satisfy Melissa.

As she walked back, she couldn't help but notice how inviting the ocean looked as the sun beat down onto her sensitive skin. Her train of thought was soon disrupted by the hard body that collided into her, causing her to drop everything in her arms.

"Hey!" she blurted out of reflex.

"Sorry," the offender responded quickly.

As she knelt down to pick up the long-forgotten food items, she looked up to see the young man in front of her, almost a foot taller, his chiseled face protected by the dark shades covering his eyes.

"It's okay," Dana relented.

"I'm really sorry."

"No, it's okay," she scrambled, jolting as her hand landed just above his as she reached for the packaged sandwich.

A bolt of electricity had her instinctively pulling her hand back. Before she could process what was happening, she could hear shouting in the distance.

"Hey! What are you doing man?"

The young man's marbled voice spoke again as he stood, glancing quickly back at the woman in front of him, quickly taking in her bright red hair and deep blue eyes. "Coming, Gimble!"

Clearly unphased, the brown-haired boy turned back towards her. "Really, I'm sorry. Umm, I gotta go. Don't give up."

“Huh?” Dana started, perplexed.

Before she could react further, the boy was running back in the direction of his shorter, somewhat portly friend.

She was stunned, completely oblivious to the passing strangers walking by, trying to process what had just happened as she stared after the lithe stranger; memorizing his golden skin, sleek with sweat that glistened in the summer sun.

"What was that?" she muttered.

"Dana, what's taking so long? I'm hungry!" Melissa called from behind her sister.

Dana didn't respond as she watched the man disappeared from sight. Even though she didn't see his eyes, the rest of him was absolutely gorgeous. The musky scent of him, his voice and his touch. It made her weak in the knees in a way that Ethan never could have.

"Earth to Dana," her sister prompted.

Dana shook her head as she turned toward her sister, her long strawberry locks grazing her shoulders as she stared straight ahead.

"Oh, I see. He IS pretty hot, isn't he?"

\----

The sky had darkened and started to rumble as droplets started to make landfall. Dana and Melissa made a beeline for where Charlie awaited them at the beach.

When the two returned, Charlie was back laying against his towel.

"Hey what took so long? I'm starving."

As she and Missy set the food down, Dana looked up to see that the guys playing volleyball had disappeared amidst the crying heavens.

That voice. She knew that voice. She sighed as she stared wistfully toward the ocean, it’s waves surging back and forth against the shore as she paid her bickering siblings no mind.

“ _Do you think I’m Spooky_?”

\-----

"What are you thinking about, Foxy? Is it that girl?" Gimble chuckled as they made their journey back home, completely unphased by the pouring rain surrounding them and the angry skies above. "She was pretty cute."

Mulder looked towards him with a glare on his face that could kill. " _Foxy_? IF you were anyone else, I'd kill you," he growled, using his free arm to put his friend into a headlock.

"Hey!" The shorter boy cried out.

Mulder laughed before pulling away. "I don't have time for a girlfriend, Gimble. Phoebe's proof of that."

As they walked back, Mulder looked out to the horizon, deep in thought. There was something about that girl that he couldn't quite place, something deep and completely enigmatic. He couldn't explain it, but he had a feeling resting deep in his gut that it wouldn't be the last he saw of her.

"Besides," Mulder implored, "I'm Spooky Mulder, a guy whose sister was abducted by aliens."  


END

  


**Author's Note:**

> Apparently, Mulder met Phoebe before Oxford according to the Origins books, so I rolled with that here. I had a million tabs open looking into 70's and 80's slang and past info on M&S. XD


End file.
